State-owned enterprises (SOEs) are often thought to dominate the Chinese market, with profound implications for the global economy. The US–China Economic and Security Review Commission stated that ‘Soviet-style, top-down planning remains a hallmark of China’s economic and political system’.

Many travellers’ favourite game involves finding original ways of increasing the amount of duty-free goods they bring through customs. Here in Australia, for example, we appear so fascinated by customs procedures that the reality TV show Border Security is in its 15th season, and has been exported to nearly a dozen countries.

Recently, Beijing appears to have taken a similar interest in the world of import procedures. It has decided to crack down on Chinese nationals evading tax and customs duties in free trade zones, in airports and at duty free shops.

The steady state in the Asian region is growth and dynamism that requires continuous structural change and adjustment. The trajectory of China’s potential rate of growth is certainly 2 or 3 percentage points lower than it was a decade ago, but even at around 6 percent over the coming decade the massive Chinese economy can still grow at two to three times the rate of the world economy as a whole. India is on the way back towards its growth potential, upwards of 8 percent over the next decade in which the young will be pouring into its labour markets.

Yesterday, China announced one of the most important tax reforms of the past twenty years. It is replacing a business tax on gross revenue for non-manufacturing companies with a VAT. Manufacturing companies have been subject to a VAT approach for a few years.

The reform extends it from manufacturing and a few services in a pilot program to industry-wide application. It will now cover construction, real estate, finance and consumer services.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the death of Chairman Mao and with it one of the lowest points in the political history of the People’s Republic of China. The nation that had stood up in 1949 was, at the time of Mao’s death, a much poorer and weaker society following decades of failed economic policies and constant social mobilisation. Out of this mess, a new generation of leaders embarked on a project to rebuild the country and make China an indispensable part of the international economy and global society.

According to new data, China's economy grew by 6.7 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2016. While it reflected the slowest quarterly growth since the global financial crisis, some key indicators such as fixed-assets investment growth and retail sales suggest that the economy is stabilizing.

China's slew of economic data lends credence to ideas that the world's second-largest economy may be stabilizing. However, the data failed to have a wider impact on the global capital markets, including supporting Chinese equities.

In fact, the seven-day advance in the MSCI Asia-Pacific Index was snapped with a fractional loss today. European shares are also lower on profit taking, breaking a five-day advance. Commodities, including oil, copper, nickel and zinc are also trading off.

China’s largest hydroelectric dam on the Brahmaputra River (known as Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibet) recently became fully operational. The $1.5 billion 510 megawatt Zangmu hydroelectric dam has brought in its wake a flood of concerns, especially in India, regarding its downstream impact.

The ‘China Dream’, a signature slogan of President Xi Jinping, has drawn worldwide attention. At a time when the growing assertiveness of China is being linked to the revival of the idea of Sino-centrism, the resurgence of a once ‘humiliated’ nation is being viewed by some countries with much apprehension. However, what exactly is Xi’s vision of the ‘China Dream’?